Socinianism, Islam and the Radical Uses of Arabic Scholarship

Abstract

Socinianism —or, broader: anti-trinitarianism— was often paralleled to Islam: both the Christian heresy and the Muslim religion reject the doctrine of the Trinity and regard Jesus only as a prophet, not as a god. There are indeed numerous historical connections between both currents. From Michael Servetus onward, the Qur’ān and islamic writings had an impact on the emerging Socinian critique. Antitrinitarians tried to establish a historical genealogy from early (Ebionite) Christianity through Islam (which preserved the true monotheistic idea) to the present. They often took their knowledge from much more orthodox Christian Arabist scholarship, which provided e.g. translations of passages from al-Qarāfī’s critique of St. Paul. Moreover, some bold writers like Aubert de Versé even proposed a historical-critical approach to the text of the Qur’ān, having in mind the model of Richard Simon’s historical criticism of the Old Testament.